A Life, and Medicine

Tests of the Time

As coughs and sniffles echoed through Hogness Hall this morning, as I sat through yet another exam. The furrowed brows and scratches of freshly sharpened #2s were the only applause as our wits were tested on the three different subjects we’re currently studying (Histology, Biochemistry, and Systems of Human Behavior). 

This is just one exam of the hundreds I’ve endured during my 7 years of university studies. It was fitting that last week Bill Gates gave a talk at UW concerning the many arenas he has sought to impact through his philanthropy. One of his big interests is education, and specifically the evolution that SHOULD be happening but is not. He made many interesting points, but the one that resonated with me was that engagement is much more important than we currently acknowledge in “traditional academics.” 

For example, my classes daily are in an auditorium with ~100 students, a powerpoint, and an instructor. There usually is some questioning during the lecture, but it is basically a linear dialog running down the path. BORING! Not to mention inefficient as most people bounce back and forth from facebook to lecture whenever they overhear something that seems interesting (how awful to invest 2 hours of time for a net gain of ~30min of instruction?). 

Back to testing. Khan Academy has it right when this linear approach should be first, followed by exercises, and THEN followed by in-person instruction/exploration. So how does this change testing? Well in a perfect world an instructor could have real-time data about where the class is with understanding. This could happen by how many / how fast / how accurate a student is completing problem sets. With enough data on a daily basis - an exam would be irrelevant. 

With all of the ways to capture and analyze data today, when ALL of our interactions are already digital, why in the hell are we still engaging education on principles established centuries ago. 

I know it won’t change while I am still in medical school - but I am really curious when it might. 

Thanks, as always, for your time.